And what that crowd got was what was expected: Reasonably entertaining, with some moments that were good; a solid performance; and the hits. (Performed, it’s important to point out, by largely the same lineup as when they became hits).

The tunes in the 17-song, hour-and-40-minute set largely held up. The opening “I Wanna Live,” a newer song, was standard rock, with the three guitarists lining up at the front of the stage to play and vocalist Jeff Keith singing in his recognizable squawk. The older “Hang Tough” was chanty, hooky rock.

Guitarist Frank Hannon

And “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out),” one of its early lesser hits, was thumping light rock with a long guitar solo. On “Mama’s Fool,” Keith’s voice and guitarist Frank Hannon played off each other nicely, and Hannon also played behind his head.

It was kind of disappointing, but perhaps not a surprise, that the band’s newest material was its weakest. “Into the Now,” the title track off its 2004 album, was sometimes sludgy and sometimes spacey. Two new songs – “MP3” and “Ricochet” -- from a new album, “Simplicity,” due out June 6, were the same, and uninventive.

And for all the band’s refreshing lack of pretense, it was a little much to have Hannon stand center stage, his head tilted back, guitar held aloft, for a solo on the five-minute “Song & Emotion,” as Keith danced in front of an amp.

After another minor hit, “The Way It Is,” mid-show the band played a two-song set from the group’s 1990 album “Five Man Acoustical Jam,” which Keith reminded the crowd was recorded at Philadelphia’s Trocadero Theater (several in the crowd responded when Keith asked if anyone was there).

With the singer and the three guitarists seated, the interlude offered some of those good moments: “Comin’ Atcha Live,” meshed with a cover of The Grateful Dead’s “Truckin’” was very good, especially the playing, and a slow “Paradise” found Keith’s voice more controlled and less squawky.

“What You Give,” also good, started acoustic, but the full band kicked in to finish it, and then the band used two acoustic guitars to start the band’s second-biggest hit, 1989’s “Love Song.” A suite of a song, it led to a minute-long, two acoustic guitar intro into Tesla’s biggest hit, its 1991 cover of Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs.”

It seemed fitting that Tesla’s biggest hit was a cover, and fitting that the group played the heck out of it. That told a lot about who the band was, and still is today.

It closed out the main set with two very good songs from its 1986 debut album – “Getting’ Better” and Modern Day Cowboy,” with the latter offering perhaps its strongest playing. The encore of its first single, 1987’s “Little Suzi” (also a cover, of the band Ph.D.) was even better – a nice mix of rocking music and acoustic elements.

That was a little dessert after the meat and potatoes.

A.D.D.

Opening band A.D.D., the Lehighton-based rockers whose star is rising in the Lehigh Valley, played a six-song set of songs that were sometimes derivative – “Save Me” has a very Switchfoot-sounding hook and the closing “Mind Over Matter” was Zeppelin-esque – but in a good way: hooky and accessible.

The band has advanced a lot since it opened for Sammy Hagar at The Sands in October. Its songs are nicely constructed, with more heft in its playing; its set nicely paced with two slower offerings, “Stay” and “Second Place”; and guitarist Tyler Ritter had some good and well-placed solos.

And the band clearly has more confidence: Singer Dakota McGeehan even ventured out into the audience on the closing “Mind Over Matter.”

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.